Shoe



Aug' 4, 1935- c. o. cRlsTALLlNl 2,049,604

sHoE

Original Filed April 6, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l 4 25,22 -ifff Aug. 4, 1936. c. o. CRISTALLINI 2,049,604

SHOE n Original Filed April 6, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f l Z0 f @maaar/wilma I J2 u l 9 /MM Patented Aug. 4, 1936 UNITED STATES 'y -charles o. criminali, Shrewsbury, u-

signor to Cristy Vita-Flex Shoe Corporation,

Worcester, Mass., -a corporation of Massachusetta Application April 6, 1934, Serial No. '119,364 Renewed April 16, 1935 8 Claims.

'I'he principal objects of this invention are to provide a shoe with a' sole having means for preventing the penetration of stones and other external objects far enough into the lsole, when walking, to cause them to. be felt by the foot; to provide a construction of sole in which the pressing of the sole down around the cleat or spike of an athletic shoe will not be transmitted inside the sole so as to cause discomfort to the wearer; to provide a construction in which a ilexible steel plate is inserted in a space between two layers; to provide it with means at the shank for holding that end of the steel plate'movably to allow motion and flexibility and thus prevent the early destruction of the steel plate by the operation of fatigue; to provide a construction which, when worn with a rubber outer sole, will prevent the drawing of the foot by the rubber and will also protect the foot from moisture, heat and cold; to

' provide a yielding construction between two 25 of the foot.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter. v

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a. bottom plan oi? a shoe sole construct- -ed in accordance with this invention with the outer parts broken away and showing the interior construction;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on 'the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 on enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the end of the steel piece employed in this shoe Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 of the rear end of. the steel piece and associated parts;

Flg.5isaviewsimilarto1iig.1showingamodi cation;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 8 6 of Fig.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of another modiilcatlon, and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8-8 of Fig. '1.

It is well known that steel or other metal shank plates have been placed in the soles oi shoes for 'three main parts are secured together.

the purpose of stliiening theshank or for other purposes but they have been open to either of two objections. Either they are confined to the shank and do not protect the foot from discomfort from stones, nails and the like, or they cover the entire sole and are rigidly secured around the edges so that the metal is quickly disintegrated by fatigue due to repeated bending back and forth. Y In the present case the entire tender part of the sole is covered to protect it and yet the steel plate is ilexibly mounted so that it will not be aiected by fatigue, at least until after a. long period of wear. The steel piece is placed in position in a new way, as will appear.

In the shoe illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, an outsole I Il of the usual type is provided and as-usual the welt II is secured to it by outer stitching I2. Also, as usual, an inner sole I3 is channeled at `I4 and by a line of stitchesi secured to thewelt Ii and upper 9 so that these 20 This stitching I5 also secures a canvas layer I6 to the bottom of the insole. Inside of the channel is a layer of felt i1 constituting a lling and extending across from channel to channel and lengthwise from the channel at the toe to the heel.

- A flat spring steel plate I8 is introduced under the felt il. Below the plate I8 is a felt layer 2| which extends part way under the line of stitches I5. This piece of felt 2| extends substantially 30 throughout the area of the outer sole part way under the line of stitching I5 from the toe end of the channel to substantially the beginning of the shank portion of the shoe, the rear end of this piece being shown in Fig. l in up-turned position.

It will be seen that the steel plate I8 is dat and partakes generally of the shape of the inside channel of the shoe and also at the rear comes back substantially to the heel and takes 44)l the place of the steel shank piece which has been used in shoes for years. However, this steel piece is not fastened in place at any point. It is not, of .course, secured by sewing and neither is it secured by pasting or glue., It is merely held in 45 place in the space betweenthe felt layers, being prevented from moving any further front than the wall of the channel allows and at the rear it is held by a pin 22 having a wide head 23. The pin passes through a V-shaped slot 24 in the rear 5o end of the steel plate lo and the head engages the bottom surface of the steel plate. This pin is and it is not intended to hold the steel plate rigidly but merely to prevent its getting out of position. The natural movements of the steel plate induced by walking are perfectly free and there is no obstacle present to impede the natural motion of the rear end of the steel plate, yet it cannot get out of place. The ordinary composition packing 36 is shown at the heel end of the shoe in Fig. 4 and extends from substantially the rear end of thefelt 2l to the heel.

This steel plate is flexible enough so that it does not interfere with the actions of the wearer in walking and engaging in athletics but' it is thick enough so that the wearer will not feel any discomfort from stepping on stones and other projections or from the cleats or spikes which may be worn on the bottom of the sole of the shoe. By not being xed at a point positively, it is capable of moving with the motion of the foot of the wearer and accommodating itself to all necessary activities. By being free to move the bending back and forth which would induce destruction of the metal by fatigue is entirely avoided.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the construction is similar to that shown in the rst four figures but there are two steel plates 25 and 26 separated by a layer of sponge rubber 21 extending across from channel to channel and longitudinally from the toe to the heel end of the plate 26. The layer 21 thus corresponds in size and location to the layer i1 in Figs. 1 to 4, differing only in material. Both of these steel plates are held in the space between the felts 3l and 2|, and plate 25, as shown for plate i8.

in the first sheet of drawings, extends back to substantially the same line as the heel end of the ordinary shank piece. The felt 31 extends from the t end of the shank portion to the front of the heel. The other steel plate 26 is only of the same extent as the ordinary steel shank.

`Both of them are provided with notches 24 for receiving a single pin 22 and they are both movably held by the head 23 of this pin, as in the other case. 'Ihis pin can be in the form of an ordinary nail or tack with a thin head. 'I'he plate 26 cannot slide forward because the inside of the shoe is narrower forwardly of the front end of the plate 26 than the width of said forward end.

This construction is made in accordance with this invention for the purpose of protecting the arches of the wearer and providing a resilient support for the longitudinal arch by means of the sponge rubber located between the two plates of steel.

In the form shown in the last two figures the invention is applied for the purpose of constructing an athletic shoe, particularly a baseball shoe. Heretofore in this class of shoes the cleat on the sole, which is triangular, has been held by three rivets extending entirely through all the members of the sole including the inner sole. This results in the location of three rivet heads on the inner surface of the insole of the shoe immediately under the ball of the foot. Ordinarily they are covered only by the sock of the wearer and, as it has been found uncomfortable to wear these shoes in this way, a removable sock lining consisting of a thick piece of felt is almost universally used. This sock lining mats down after a few weeks of -wear and has to be replaced by a new one involving a material expense.

According tothe present invention these dimculties are overcome by the provision of a preferably triangular piece of rawhide 30 cemented on the inner surface of the outer sole; 'I'he usual three cornered cleat 3| is employed and three rivets 32 pass through the outer sole and the piece of rawhide, the rivets being headed over on the upper surface of the rawhide. This provides for leaving theinner sole absolutely free of such rivet heads. Furthermore, the layer 33 similar to the felt 2i is cut out to provide an opening u through it of the same shape as the rawhide. 'Ihis rawhide is quite thin and is intended to be of the same thickness as the felt. The rawhide projects into the opening and its upper surface is level with the upper surface of the felt. Therefore, it does not add any thickness to the shoe at this point but instead serves as an additional an- 'thor to hold the felt in position and contributes to the object above mentioned of eliminating the headed over rivets above the wearing surface of the sole of the shoe. 'I'his avoids the necessity of using the removable sock linings and replacing them at frequent intervals. In addition to this the rawhide is so stiif and strong that it provides an even better anchorage for the cleat than has been the case heretofore. The other features of the shoe illustrated on Sheet 1 are employed in this shoe preferably.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the'laims, but what I claim is:-

. 1. As-an article of manufacture, a shoe having an outsole, two layers of felt above the outsole, and a metal plate projecting into a space between the felts and held loosely at the rear of said space and covering the sole from the toe to a point at the front of the heel.

2. As an article of manufacture, a shoe having a sole, two layers of felt in the shoe, a ilexible metal plate loosely located between said felts and of an area less than that of the upper felt, the felt projecting beyond the edges of the plate, and means at the rear of said plate for loosely anchoring it to the insole.

3. As an article of manufacture, a shoe having an outer sole and an inner sole, two layers of thin material between them, and a metal plate located between said layers and extending at the rear thereof to the instep.

4. As an article of manufacture, a shoe having inner and outer soles, a`. line of stitches around the inner sole, two layers of felt within the line of stitches, and a metal plate of substantially the same size as the lower felt between said layers, said metal plate having a shank extending rearwardly of the lower layer.

5. As an article of manufactures shoe having an outer sole and an inner sole, two layers of felt between them, a metal plate between the two layers, and means for holding down the rear en d of said metal plate, said plate being movable longitudinally with respect to said means, for the purpose described.

6. As an article of manufacture, a shoe provided with two layers of thin material on the sole thereof, a sheet metal plate having the forward end located between said layers, a second metal plate above the first metal plate and constituting a shank piece, and a cushion of sponge rubber between the two metal plates, for the purpose described.

7. As an article of manufacture, an athletic shoe provided with a layer of felt on the sole thereof, and a sheet metal plate having the i'orward end located on said layer, a. cleat on the bottom of the outer sole, a piece of rawhide in contact with the top of the outsole, and rivets extending through the cleat, outsole and rawhide. having their heads engaging the top surface of the rawhide. said layer above the outsole being cut out to the same shape as the piece of rawhide and being of substantially the same thickness as said rawhide so as to receive the rawhide therein without adding to the thickness of the layer ot telt.

8. As an article of manufacture. a shoe having an outer sole and an inner sole. two layers o! felt between them. a metal plate located between said layers, and a rubber layer over the metal plate.

CHARLES 0. CRISTALHNI. 

